History of St. Paul's Hospital and the Sisters of Providence
St. Paul's began when Mother Emilie Gamelin founded the Sisters of
Providence in Montreal in 1843. The Sisters of Providence established
schools, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the aged and asylums in
Canada and the United States, and later in many other countries. In
1894 the congregation established St. Paul's, a 25-bed compassionate
care hospital founded in the name of the then-Bishop Paul Durieu, OMI,
of New Westminster.
St. Paul's was, from the beginning, keenly interested in using the
latest medical technology. The hospital became one of the first to have
its very own X-ray machine, circa 1906. By the 1970s, plans were in
place to remake the 500-bed hospital to efficiently fulfill its new
role as a provincial referral centre for specialty services.
Now a renowned teaching hospital with a strong research focus, St.
Paul's is recognized provincially, nationally and internationally for
its work in the areas of heart disease, kidney disease, nutritional
disorders, HIV/AIDS and the care of the disadvantaged. Looking to the
future, the hospital is committed to strengthening the goals of the
Sister of Providence to provide compassionate, effective care to those
in need.
Learn more about the history of the Sisters and St. Paul 's Hospital
